Harry Potter and the Eternal Balance
by Jedi-Sabre
Summary: Why did Voldemort really kill Harry's parents? Why did they oppose him more then any other wizard or witch? Read the fic to see why! Details Harry Sixth Year, some OOTP spoilers
1. Prologue

What happens when you combine Harry Potter, Jedi Knights, and several other super powers? I have no idea, let's find out! This fic is brought to you by my own form of insanity, I hope you enjoy it. If you want to review it, you can submit a review here, or to my email account, jedi_knight_6@hotmail.com. Enjoy, but please bear in mind, this is my first fic, so please be gentle with the flames.  
  
I own nothing, except for the original characters. If you want to sue me, come and find me and I'll 'convince' you that it's a bad idea to piss off an over worked call center employee that also goes to school fulltime.  
  
Harry Potter and the Eternal Balance  
  
In the universe, there exists a balance. Darkness and Light, Good and Evil. This balance is eternal and was meant to never end. But greed and the hunger for power changed that. The universe fell into chaos as many beings jealously hoarded power and wealth, rising about others and tipping the balance to the side of darkness. For a time, people thought that the dark forces would stop or be stopped by others, maybe even destroy each other. But many began to see the error of their ways, for if evil is allowed to grow it will never stop. Many knew what needed to be done, but some said that it was too late to return to the way things had been, that the forces of good would be overcome completely.  
  
Yet, they had to try.  
  
And in the end, they failed.  
  
For every victory that the forces of good obtained, the darkness struck a dozen worlds in other places. The light began to falter, and darkness grew across all free people. Just as the darkness seemed to have won, mysterious beings of immense power appeared, turning the tides on the darkness and giving the light the chance it needed to return. As the darkness turned back, all free people began to whisper about these beings, these 'Chosen Ones'. Fighting evil, they restored the balance, leaving people free, yet evil still alive in many forms. These Chosen Ones fight to restore the balance, to keep it in check, lest all people be exterminated from the face of reality. Spreading across the galaxy, the Chosen Ones kept the balance on each world, constantly stopping Evil AND good from overcoming one another. Many worlds have legends of such battles, epic quests of bravery and daring. Many worlds are still trying to find the balance that will lead them to ultimate peace and prosperity.  
  
This is one such story  
  
Prologue  
  
4 Privet Drive really only had one predominate color, grey. The roofs were grey, the doors were grey, even the bricks were grey. It seemed as if life was being leeched out from the very houses that surrounded Harry, the depressing color matching the thick grey rain clouds overhead. Sighing deeply, Harry brushed his hair from his face and continued to look outside, hoping to see a glimmer of white against the gray sky.  
  
'I hope Hedwig isn't going to fly in this storm.......knowing her though, she'd do it anyway. She's too loyal sometimes.'  
  
Tearing his eyes from the window, Harry continued to write his potions essay, knowing that if he didn't get it done now, he'd never do it. It had only been two weeks since he had finished his fifth year at Hogwarts, he could hardly expect his friends to have a mountain of letters to send to him. But these past weeks at the Dursley's had been strangely quiet. To quiet. They had mostly left him alone, except for the odd chore that they refused to do, like the gardening, taking out the trash, cleaning the garage, ect. Stranger still, his relatives had 'trusted' him enough to leave him in the house while they had gone on vacation to Hawaii, a present for Dudley's birthday that Vernon had somehow won, giving him some much needed peace and quiet. If he had been thinking clearly, Harry may have wondered why exactly he had been left her alone, but these thoughts seemed to flee from his mind when he imagined a 2 week vacation from his overly strict and annoying relatives. Resting his chin in his palm, He wished that he could have stayed with his Godfather, Sirius. But Sirius was dead, and it was his fault. Sighing deeply, Harry closed his eyes as tears threatened to flow down his cheeks.  
  
'If only I hadn't stopped the Occlumency classes, none of this would have happened! Sirius would be alive and everything would be alright. But now, the last of my family is gone. Why does everything and everyone I care for get taken from me?'  
  
Harry sighed in frustration, and slammed his potions book closed and went downstairs to stretch his legs and take his mind off of his dark thoughts. Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, something caught his eye. Looking at the front door, he noticed a fairly large package, with his name on it.  
  
"Who could that be from? And how did it get through the mail slot?"  
  
Not thinking about how this could possibly be a trap, Harry approached the package, his worry's fleeing his mind. Picking the package up, Harry ripped the paper and saw a simple note at the bottom of the box and cloth covered bundle. Taking the note out, he looked at it for a moment  
  
This was your father's.......he wanted you to have it after your fifth  
year. As such, I have followed  
his instructions to the letter, and returned this family heirloom to  
its rightful owner. Enjoy, and  
remember, only use it against that really, really deserve it  
  
A friend  
  
Reaching for the bundled object, Harry pulled it from the box and slowly removed the cloth. Moments later, he dropped what looked like a foot and half metal tube into his palm.  
  
'No....it's not a tube, it's a hilt.."  
  
The metal was warm to the touch and Harry could feel several powerful charms permeating the material. Tracing his hand over several runes that decorated the surface, he nearly dropped the hilt as it began to mold around hid hand, forming a firm yet perfect grip for his hands. Looking at it silently, he read the letter again and said aloud,  
  
"So what exactly do I do with this?"  
  
"Well, most people would use it to fight evil, but you could use it for other things I suppose. Cutting tree limbs, big rocks, chopping arms off of people that you don't like, you know little things like that."  
  
Crouching low, Harry grabbed his wand and leveled it at the shadowed stranger.  
  
"Who are you? What do you want? And how the hell did you get in my house?"  
  
Laughing softly, the shadowed stranger leaned against the banister slightly so only his lower face was visible. Looking at Harry with a wide smile he raised his hand lazily and after a small flick of his hand, sent Harry's wand sailing across the room.  
  
"Now that that's been taken care of, I think it's time we were going." Harry looked at the shadowed man strangely, wondering if he had missed something. Most people now a day were a little wary of Harry, having defeated the most powerful dark wizard in all history made most people think twice before they tried to mess with him, wand or no wand.  
  
"And what makes you think that I'd go with you anywhere?"  
  
"Well, it could be because I need you to come with me, or maybe because I can give you answers to questions you have. Or, just because I can make you come." Harry looked at the man in surprise and laughed, crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
"Oh really? I'd like to see you try that. With all the protection wards around this house, you couldn't apparate me out of here if you tried."  
  
"Damn, your right, what was I thinking?"  
  
Turning around the youth began to walk away, when he suddenly snapped his fingers and turned to face Harry again.  
  
"Oh, just one thing I forgot to mention to you. I can't believe this slipped my mind!"  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Well, that hilt you're holding in your hand right now?"  
  
"Yeah? What about it?"  
  
"It's a port key."  
  
Harry's mouth hung opened as he disappeared with a quiet pop. Laughing softly, the shadowed figure shook his head, and ran a hand through his unruly black hair.  
  
"And so it begins...."  
  
I had to repost this since the format got all screwed up, I hope that this is a little easier to read, enjoy the first Chapter, should be up today! Review! 


	2. Chapter 1

Well, I only got 4 reviews, but all of them were positive, for which I am grateful. So, without further adieu, on with the fic!  
  
I own nothing, except for the original characters. If you want to sue me, come and find me and I'll 'convince' you that it's a bad idea to piss off an over worked call center employee that also goes to school fulltime.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"How go the preparations?"  
  
"My Lord, all is proceeding according to plan, the muggles have accepted the proposal, the deed will be finished by dawn."  
  
"Excellent, do not forget to pay them a visit to 'repay' them for their assistance."  
  
"Of course, Lord Voldemort."  
  
Reaching to his side, Voldemort slowly stroked a metal object, running his hand over the molded grip.  
  
"And so the battle begins for some, just as it ends for others!"  
  
-- --------------------------  
  
Riggs knew that things were looking up. When a man comes to you with a bag of gold coins, wanting to use your 'special talents', that was definitely a good day. Biggs and Wedge ran up beside Riggs, panting from the run. Riggs took a look at the quiet neighborhood and saw the sun just barely peaking over the horizon. Looking at the identical houses, he got the distinct feeling that he was doing these people a favor, making them see that all things will change eventually  
  
'A little chaos never hurt anyone....cept in this case the kid in that house.'  
  
Shrugging his shoulders absently, he looked at his cohorts, wiping away any trace of sympathy he had for the young man they had been sent to kill.  
  
"Ok, everything is set boss, it'll look just like a gas explosion."  
  
Nodding, Riggs pulled the radio detonator from his pocket and pushed a button. A massive shockwave nearly threw the trio to their backs and moments later a massive fireball rose into the sky. Flames consumed the house rapidly, and Riggs smiled at his handy work.  
  
"All right boys, lets get that gold!"  
  
------------------------------------------  
  
Ron moaned as an unending buzzing filled his ears. Waving his arm blindly in the direction of his clock, he grabbed something solid and immediately threw it at his wall. One loud thump later and peace was restored to his room. The lanky teenager smiled as he pulled the covers over his head again, hoping that sleep would come soon. Moments later, someone pounded on his door.  
  
"Go away! Sleeping!"  
  
Moments later his bedroom door was flung open, and a bucket of ice cold water poured over his head.  
  
"DAMN IT! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?"  
  
Glaring at his older brother Bill, he paused for a moment and cocked his head to the side and said dumbly,  
  
"Bill? What are you doing here? I thought you were in.."  
  
"There's no time for that! Get dressed now, something's happened to Harry, some kind of explosion! We're leaving now to see if we can find out what's happening!"  
  
Moments later Ron was rushing out of his room, tugging his shirt over his head. Looking over his family, what he saw made him feel very sorry for whoever had caused them all to worry. Bill and Charlie had large scowls on their faces, their wands gripped so tightly in their hands that their knuckles were turning white. Fred and George were muttering to themselves, scowling and making angry gestures. But the last of the Weasely children present caused Ron to feel the most uncomfortable. Ginny was practically shooting sparks from her eyes, her brown eyes flashing with a fury that all residents of the home knew very well. Reaching for the floo powder on the mantelpiece, Ginny threw it in the fireplace and muttered,  
  
"Arabella Figg's"  
  
Walking into the green flames, she shot a look at her brothers, as if saying, 'What the hell are you waiting for?' Moments later, Fred, George, Bill and Charlie were gone with several loud cracks. Ron quickly threw some more floo powder into the fire and absently thought,  
  
'Why do I get the feeling that I should have stayed in bed?'  
  
---- -------------------------------  
  
Ginny was fighting desperately to keep calm. Harry was missing, and that news alone almost sent her over the edge, wanting to go out with her wand and capture/maim/torture every Death Eater she came across to find Harry. As much as she wanted to say that she was over him, she knew deep down she never would be. She was truly in love with him, and if that meant that she would give him up so that he'd be happy, she was more than willing to do so. As she tumbled out of Mrs. Figg's fireplace, she threw the front door open, not even speaking to a stunned Mrs. Figg, stalking over towards what was left of 4 Privet Drive.  
  
As the scene came into view, tears threatened to leak from her eyes. Smoke drifted lazily into the sky, and several people were gathered around, mostly police and firefighters As the flames continued to consume the house, her strength failed and she fell to the ground, sobbing. Moments later, a pair of strong arms was holding her, rocking her back and forth gently, whispering softly into her ear that things will turn out all right. Looking into the face of her brother Charlie, all she could do was bury her face in his chest and sob. Bill looked at the scene before him, his heart nearly breaking at the sight of the burning house and his heartbroken sister.  
  
'Who ever did this is going to pay.  
  
'Looking to his right, he saw a man in a long jacket giving orders to the officers. Walking forward, he touched the man's shoulder.  
  
"Officer, any idea what happened?"  
  
"Yeah, looks like a natural gas explosion, took out the house this morning. Good thing that no one was here."  
  
Bill looked at him in surprise and grabbed him by the shoulders  
  
"Was there someone that got out before the explosion? Where is he? We're his friends, what can you tell us?"  
  
"Hey, calm down! Neighbors are saying that a young man left the house last night around 7pm, walking down the street. No one saw him return last night or this morning and the firemen have searched the building, they're pretty sure that no one was in there, there should be some evidence if your friend was inside when the house blew."  
  
Suddenly a young policeman came running forward and stopped in front of the lieutenant, catching his breath after running from his squad car  
  
."Lieutenant, we just got reports of a triple homicide. We found three men with enough explosives and weapons to start their own war."  
  
The lieutenant's eyes widened slightly and began walking away, but Bill was able to catch end of their conversation  
  
"Any idea as to the cause of death?"  
  
"No sir, it looks like they all died of natural causes, there wasn't a scratch on any of them."  
  
Bill lowered his head, his shoulders shaking as he managed to put the two seemingly unrelated incidents together.  
  
'He got those men to try and kill Harry.....and then he repays them with death. As much as I hate Voldemort, those three got what was coming to them for even attempting this.'  
  
Returning to his crying sister, he rested his hand on the top of Ginny's head. The entire family had heard the conversation and all of them had looks of disbelief, grief and anger. Kneeling beside his sister, Bill titled her face towards him and said,  
  
"Don't worry Gin, we'll find him, no matter what the cost. And if anything has happened to him, I pity the poor bastard because he'll get no mercy from any of us."  
  
-----------------------  
  
Weeks passed, and no word came about Harry's whereabouts. Several reports from the Daily Prophet tried to get a statement from the Weasley's, but received several curses instead. One reporter was so insistent that last anyone had heard he was in St Mungo's recovering from 15 different curses. No more reports ever came to the Burrow. Bill and Charlie had taken a permanent leave of absence from their jobs, spending all their time with the Order of the Phoenix. All members not on a priority mission were being used to search for Harry. Both Arthur and Molly were still out of the country making contact with foreign Ministries of Magic, but had been communicating with their children, boosting their spirits and helping them in any way they could. Dumbledore was also doing all that he could to find Harry, but people were starting to lose hope. Several leads had come up, but in the end, nothing came of any of them. Ron looked out his bedroom window, absently stroking Hedwig. The owl had shown up after the Weasley's had returned, extremely agitated that she couldn't find Harry. The family had sent several letters with the snowy white owl since they were sure that she would be able to find Harry no matter what. But every letter came back with Hedwig, unopened. Voldemort seemed to be very pleased with this latest turn of events, using the confusion of the wizarding world to launch numerous attacks. People everywhere had lost hope, hope that stood for them in the form of a young man that no one could find. Shaking his head, Ron pulled a cloak over his shoulders and left his room. All of his brothers were waiting for him in the living room. Today was the day to go to Diagon Alley and get his and Ginny's school things. Since the attacks had started, the entire family had decided that it was safer that they all were together. They had even gone as far as to try and talk with Percy, hoping that he would change his mind of how he thought things were. Unfortunately, Percy was kept extremely busy at the Ministry that he hadn't had time to talk with his family at all. Reaching for the floo powder, Ron tossed it in and motioned for Ginny to go ahead once their brothers had disapparated to the Leaky Cauldron. After his sister disappeared, Ron sighed again, knowing that this trip to Diagon Alley would be anything but fun, since Harry was missing and Hermione wouldn't be there. Dumbledore had taken her to 12 Grimmauld place for her protection, assuming that she'd be an excellent target for the Death Eaters to use as bait for Harry if he was merely hiding. Dumbledore had even gone so far as to send Professor McGonagall to get Hermione's school supplies. Tossing the floo powder into the fire, he clearly said,  
  
"DIAGON ALLEY."  
  
Moments later Ron was gone in a flash green flames  
  
-------------------------------  
  
Ginny took Bill's hand in hers and blinked back tears. Since the entire ordeal had started, she would burst into tears at any moment, wondering if she'd ever see Harry again, wanting so badly to tell him how she felt about him. Gone was the insecure girl, the torturous ordeal making her realize that she had to tell Harry when she saw him her feelings for him. Looking around, Ginny's mood didn't brighten any. Normally, Diagon Alley was bustling with wizards and witches, selling and buying. Children laughing at magical toys and trinkets, the sound and smells that would make any person feel alive with the magic and wonder of such a special place. But after Harry's disappearance, people seemed to have lost hope. Many of the people that would normally be in the Alley were missing, the only people that Ginny saw were several students from Hogwarts and the Aurors. After the attacks began, the ministry had left a permanent group of twenty Aurors in Diagon Alley to keep order and peace. The ministry had also decided that to cut down on any groups that Voldemort may attack, so very few people were actually allowed to come to Diagon Alley and restricted all Floo travel to just the Leaky Cauldron. People followed a specific schedule and these records were closely guarded in the Ministry. Just as the family had reached Gringotts, Bill stopped.  
  
"Does anyone else feel that? Almost like the air has stopped moving."  
  
All of the Weasley's looked around, seeing that several other witches and wizards had noticed the same thing. Moments later, the wind picked up until it became as powerful as a tornado. Bill pulled Ginny into a doorway, and watched the rest of his family gather beside him. Several witches and wizards didn't react quickly enough and were slammed into wall or through display windows. A high pitched laugh echoed through the streets and the wind mysteriously died down. Six black clothed individuals appeared, and looked at the remaining people that were standing  
  
."And what have we here? More muggle loving trash? Or loyal followers of our true lord, Voldemort?"  
  
Smiling at his companions, he turned to face the crowd. Everyone was frozen due to the display of raw power that these strange men had just shown. No one moved at all as the apparent leader continued to speak.  
  
"If any are loyal to Voldemort, show it now. Give us the Weasley Family, and we will be on our way." Gripping his wand tightly, Bill looked at Charlie and nodded. Pulling his hand from his sister's, he knelt down and looked into her eyes  
  
."Ginny, I need you to run with Ron, Fred and George, we need to get you out of here. When me and Charlie run out, you get to the Leaky Cauldron as fast as possible. Ok?"  
  
Nodding quickly, Ginny's tears slowly trailed down her cheeks as he oldest brothers spoke to each other softly. George and Fred had their wands out, as did Ron. Looking at her family for what may have been the last time, Ginny shed her tears again, thinking,  
  
'First Harry, now the rest of my family..when will this nightmare end?"  
  
---- ------------------------------------  
  
"No? A pity, lets show these simpleton's what awaits the foes of our Lord....DEATH!"  
  
Pulling a metal object from his robe, he closed his eyes for a moment and a blood red blade sprang from the end of it. Each of the other black figures did the same, raising their glowing blades. Raising their free hands, blasts of red energy began to strike people rapidly, dropping them all to the ground. Each Knight raised their blades high, relishing in the slaughter that was before them  
  
."ALL SHALL FEAR THE DEATH KNIGHTS OF VOLDEMORT! DEATH TO HIS ENEMIES!"  
  
"REDUCTO!"  
  
"REDUCTO!"  
  
The two curses hit the center of the square the six Death Knights were standing in, sending shards of rock flying in all directions. Ginny and her brothers ran as fast as possible, making a break for the nearest floo connection. The black clothed knights seemed unfazed by the flying rock and turned to the Weasley Brothers, raising their hands and unleashing a blast of wind that send them flying back. A knight turned to the running group and raced after the fleeing Weasley's  
  
."STUPEFY!"  
  
The red curse raced towards the running knight, but none that were watching could believe what happened next. The glowing blade dipped downward into the path of the curse, and with at small flick of his wrist it was sent hurtling back to Charlie. Falling to the ground, Ginny saw look of agony frozen on her stunned brother's face, knowing that he had failed them. The black Knight stood over the youngest Weasley and leered at her. Raising his hands, George Fred and Ron were slammed through the nearest windows by blasts of air before they could even get their wands up. Ginny screamed as she saw her brother's fall in a tangle of limbs, bleeding from multiple puncture wounds from the glass. Turning quickly, she looked into the face of their attacker and fell back, fear causing her to freeze.  
  
"Ah, the young one..just what the Master requested!"  
  
Suddenly pandemonium struck, but his time it struck the Death Knights. A brilliantly bright tower of flames erupted around the five remaining Death Knights, causing them to clump together, not wanting to get burned. Just as Ginny's pursuer reached for her, a brilliant blue flash of light chopped own viciously, severing his hand. The knight fell to the ground, clutching the smoking stump and howling in agony. Looking to her left fearfully, Ginny's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. A tall youth with well defined muscles stood beside her, holding a familiar metal object but with a blue blade instead of red. Raising his hand, the injured knight went sailing through the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies, destroying the broom that was on display. Suddenly the blue blade retracted into the ornate hilt and Ginny was in the youth's arms, rising up to the rooftops of the shops in Diagon Alley on a current of air. Looking at the face of her rescuer, Ginny's breath caught in her throat and she managed to gasp  
  
,"Harry?"  
  
Turning to face her, he rescuer winked and shook his head. Looking closer, Ginny realized that though he resembled Harry, there were some subtle differences. His jaw line was more angular, making him appear a little older and he was definitely built more like a linebacker from that American muggle sport, football. But the biggest differences were his eyes, they were the most intense blue that Ginny had ever seen and the fact that he had no scar on his forehead  
  
."Nope, the name's Jared. That's Harry."  
  
Ginny followed his outstretched finger and her breath hitched in her throat again as she watched the scene unfold below her. Harry dove from the top of Gringotts and the wall of flames died down, revealing the human projectile that was to spell the Death Knights doom. Harry savagely attacked the nearest knight, hacking and slashing, never letting his opponent rest or gain the advantage for a single moment. Moments later, the fight ended with Harry knocking the blade from his opponents hand, he then raised his free hand and thrust it towards the downed man, sending him skidding painfully along the ground with a blast of air. Facing his remaining opponents, he declared in a loud voice,  
  
"You want someone? Well come and get me!"  
  
---------------------------  
  
Jared grinned as he watched Harry move effortlessly between the flashing blades, following the patterns of magic that flowed around the blades as if alive, making him dodge when ever they came in contact with his magical aura surrounding his body. Harry seemed to not even care that four people were using deadly blades that were about to cleave him in two! A quick stab behind him and a knight fell behind Harry, clutching at his thigh and rolling on the ground. Moments later another knight fell, knocked unconscious from a point blank stunner after Harry batted away his weapon. The spell flew from his hand and tossed the first knight several feet back, while another turned to try and get away, but he was too slow as Harry's second stunner knocked him face first into the hard ground. The remaining knight eyed him fearfully. Moments later, his body blurred and the disappeared. Harry sighed and the glowing blade slowly disappeared and he attached his hilt to his belt. Looking to his side, he saw Charlie and knelt beside him, waving his hand over his stunned friend. Charlie bolted upright and started to grin manically,  
  
"Harry, that was absolutely brilliant! Where did you learn to fight like that?"  
  
Harry grinned as he slapped a round disk in Charlie's hand and he whispered a few words to him. After Charlie nodded in agreement, he disappeared. Tossing a similar disk to Bill, who incidentally was doing a very good impression a fish, he smirked as Bill automatically caught the disk and faded from sight. Pulling a pair of stylish sunglasses from the leather coat he wore, he looked at Jared and grinned  
  
."Any problems?"  
  
"Nah, piece of cake. But you know the one that you stabbed in the leg almost had you. Another couple of inches and he would have chopped your hand off."  
  
Dismissing the tall youth with a wave of his hand, Harry placed the glasses on his face, blocking out he bright sun. Harry walked towards Ron and gathered him up in a back slapping hug which Ron returned enthusiastically.  
  
"Harry, that was so wicked! You've got to teach me that! And that green blade, what was that?"  
  
"All in good time Ron, all in good time, for now, I need you three to hold onto this. We'll talk when and where it's safe." Flipping the disk into the air, Ron grabbed it and looked at the markings on the front. An infinity symbol was etched into the surface, along with a set of scales that were perfectly balanced. After his brothers touched the disk, they all disappeared.  
  
Ginny looked at Harry with barely contain joy as he somehow jumped the three story building they were on and landed nimbly on his feet beside her. She threw herself into his arms, squeezing as hard as she could. Jared snickered as he watched Harry turn a very interesting shade of blue  
  
"Ginny....air.....good......breathe..."  
  
Ginny quickly let Harry go, her cheeks bright red with embarrassment  
  
'Well done, the one guy I love comes back, and I nearly kill him!  
  
'Looking at Harry, Ginny's heart started to beat faster, seeing that he must have been very busy during the time he was missing. Before he was a lanky teenager, with very wiry muscles and almost no muscle tone what so ever. Now, there was quite a bit of definition to his muscles, nothing that was huge, but he had filled out nicely. It also looked like he had grown several inches, just topping 6 feet now. Before he had left, she had thought that he was cute, but now, he was defiantly more then cute, he was hot! Looking at the ground, she saw the Aurors finally regaining their senses. Each of them pumped several Stunners into each Death Knight, not entirely convinced they were out of the fight. Moments later, reinforcements arrived, as did a pair of very familiar faces for Harry and Ginny. Dumbledore looked at the scene of carnage before him, the blasted streets and destroyed shops telling him of the fierce battle that had taken place. But more importantly, the young girl beside him was nearly beside herself in tears, knowing that her friends were supposed to be here and now they may be hurt, or worse. Jared looked at Hermione as she clung to Dumbledore's side. Harry looked at Jared for a moment and saw a thoughtful expression come to Jared's face as he continued to stare at Hermione. Moments later Jared shook his head and looked at Harry again  
  
"So, this is your other best friend, the most intelligent witch Hogwarts has seen in a century?"  
  
Harry nodded and Jared smirked.  
  
"Well, let's not keep her waiting in suspense shall we? I'm sure she'll be more than thrilled to see you."  
  
Harry grinned and picked up Ginny in his arms, grinning even wider as the young girl giggled at him. Jumping forward, he landed softly beside his friend and let Ginny down and watched Jared land beside him. Walking forward silently, Harry stood beside Hermione and winked at Ginny and Jared.  
  
"Hey, what happened here?"  
  
Hermione's eyes became as big as dinner plates as she turned around. All Hermione did was stare at Harry for a minute or two, then suddenly she tackled Harry to the ground, sobbing into his chest and beating it at the same time. Jared fell on the ground laughing, tears coming to his eyes as he watched the amusing spectacle. Every witch and wizard that could stand was watching the scene unfolding before them, whispering between each other rapidly.  
  
"Damn you Harry Potter for making me worry! I'm going to kill you!"  
  
Grabbing Hermione's hands, Harry held her close till her sobs became sniffles and finally stopped. Looking into her eyes, he winked at her and she giggled, wrapping him up in a hug and whispering to him softly. Helping Hermione to her feet, Harry put his arm around her shoulder. Hermione looked at Jared for a moment and did a double take, then started to gape like a fish out of water. Jared leaned forward and gently closed her mouth with a light snapping sound the smiled widely.  
  
'I bet 'm going to get a lot of that in the near future...'  
  
"HI, I'm Jared. You know, you look so much cuter when you're not gaping at people like a fish out of water."  
  
Harry turned away from Hermione, trying to not laugh as he face turned beet red and she glared at Jared. Ginny lightly slapped Harry's arm and glared at him and he composed himself quickly. Jared then walked towards Professor Dumbledore and pulled a small figurine from a pouch he had at his hip  
  
"Professor, I'm sure that you recognize this, and know what it means."  
  
Dumbledore looked at the figurine and nodded, his eyes twinkling brightly and a wide smile nearly splitting his face in two. Reaching out a hand he clapped Jared on the shoulder and then did the same to Harry  
  
."Yes, I do recognize this.....and believe I know what it signifies. I have been waiting a long time for you to appear again and now that you have the spell is broken. I see that we all have much to discuss young Jared. If you'd be so kind to take us to the Citadel, I believe all of the players are now gathered."  
  
Jared nodded and closed his eyes and spread his arms wide and began to chant softly in a strange language. Moments later a large glowing portal appeared in front of the small group, and Harry, Ginny Hermione Dumbledore and Jared were pulled in quickly. The moment that Jared passed through the portal it snapped shut, leaving a large number of confused and worried wizards and witches behind.  
  
So, what's the verdict on this Chapter? Anyone interested in being a Beta reader? If so, email me and I'll put you up for consideration. As always, reviews and flames are appreciated! I mean, how else would I get better if you didn't tell me if my fic sucks? 


	3. Chapter 2

Now, I'm very happy that people are enjoying this story, but I have to make one thing clear.  
  
HARRY AND JARED ARE NOT JEDI KNIGHTS.  
  
You'll see what I've come up with, it's just that I really like Star Wars so one specific group has some similarities with Jedi knights, but is still very different. Trust me, you'll understand soon and hopefully you'll like it. So, Enjoy,  
  
Chapter 2  
  
'Wow, I never knew that a port key could be such a smooth ride.'  
  
Ron's eyes flicked back and forth as he tried to figure out exactly where he was. It seemed like he and his brothers had been traveling for several minutes through a long white tunnel when suddenly they approached a bright white light and suddenly plunged into it. Moments later his eyes cleared and all he saw was wide open sky for as far as he could see. Moments later, he felt something very disconcerting, as if air was rushing past him quickly. The terrified screams from the twins snapped him out of his dreaming and he saw they were several hundred feet up in the air!  
  
'Dammit Harry, when I get my hands on you....oh ho, you better hope I die, cause if not I'm gonna kill you!'  
  
Quickly pulling his wand out, Ron pointed it at his brothers to cast a floating charm when a massive shadow swooped down and grabbed Fred and George from the air. Looking up, Ron nearly pissed his pants as he saw a massive English Black circle around and dive at him. As it drew closer, the only thing that Ron could think was,  
  
'ImgonnadieImgonnadieImgonnadieImgonnadieImgonnadie..:  
  
Moments later the black dipped forward just before it reached him and he fell on its back, forcing the air from his lungs. As he tried to get his breath back the massive creature rose higher in the blue sky and a cheery voice yelled,  
  
"Hey, little brother! Like my new ride?"  
  
Looking ahead, he saw Charlie wave at him, grinning like a madman. Bill was in front of him, looking as white as a ghost as he tried not to piss his pants like Ron had almost done.  
  
"CHARLIE?!?!? What the hell is going on?"  
  
Charlie merely laughed and whooped in joy as they approached a thick cloud bank. As they passed through it, Ron felt a tingling sensation course through his body, something that almost felt familiar but he couldn't place it. As they finally broke through the clouds, the Black reared its head back and let out a loud roar. Ron looked down, expecting endless clouds before him, but he was completely dumbstruck at the sight before him. Hanging in the cloud bank was a floating island! It was easily three times larger then Hogwarts and it's entire grounds, with forests covering almost the entire island, several meadows separating them, Ron couldn't form a single coherent thought since he was so shocked and awed as the Black passed beside several of the gleaming towers of the fortress that sat in the middle of the island,. Ron managed to start forming thoughts again as the black slowly beat its wings, drifting to the ground in a forest off to the side from the castle. Just before it touched down, it released Fred and George from its hands then dropped to the ground, bowing low to the ground so Ron, Charlie and Bill could get off... The twins scrambled away from the terrifying sight and looked at it stupidly as Charlie patted it gently then swung a leg over its side and slid off its glossy back. Ron and Bill both scrambled quickly to get off of the dragon's back and stood beside Fred and George.  
  
Charlie snorted as he walked towards the Black's head and patted its snout, completely unafraid.  
  
"Charlie, how could you enjoy that? I mean, look at him! He could have killed us!"  
  
Charlie snorted and patted the dragon's head one more time and then joined his brothers.  
  
"I dunno, at first I was scared, but I got this feeling that he means no harm to us. I'd say since he saved us from falling that he's different from a normal dragon. So, any clue where we are?"  
  
Ron looked around for a moment and saw that they were in the clearing of a forest. Trees towered over them and blocked the sun, keeping it cooler than it really was. Turning back to his brothers, he shrugged his shoulders. Suddenly a pair of voices said,  
  
"About 20,000 miles high and over the Canadian Rockies last time I checked."  
  
"As such, make sure not to go near the edge of the island, since it's a long way down."  
  
Bill and Charlie spun around, standing in front of the twins and Ron protectively and raised their wands. Ron's mouth dropped as he saw Dumbledore, Hermione, Ginny, Harry and the mysterious youth from before step from a glowing portal. Harry was standing in front of the other new arrivals and grinned as he raised his hands. The young man that rescued Ginny did the same, a similar smile on his lips. Ginny and Hermione stood off to the side, staring at the massive Black in shock. Dumbledore just stood there, eyes twinkling and a smile permanently stuck on his face.  
  
"Bill, Charlie, put those down! Geez, I've only been gone a month and you react like this!" Grinning widely, Harry stepped forward and grabbed Ron and pulled him into a back slapping hug.  
  
Ron pulled back from Harry, taking a moment to look at him now that the shock of the fight had passed. Harry had really changed. Now he was easily 6'2 and no longer scrawny as a house elf, well defined muscles showing under the dark green polo shirt Harry wore.  
  
'Guess all that Quidditch has finally paid off, he looks fitter then I've ever seen him and he's as tall as I am now!'  
  
"Harry, what happened? Where were you all that time?"  
  
Before Harry could say anything, a voice broke into the conversation and said,  
  
"Actually, it's my fault he disappeared. If you'd like, I can..."  
  
The youth's voice trailed off as Ron's wand was pointed directly between his eyes.  
  
"YOU! You're the reason my family has been suffering!"  
  
Ron's hand didn't waver as he looked into to the youth's calm blue eyes. He could dimly hear Ginny and Hermione screaming at him to stop but he couldn't make it out. All Ron could think about was the fact that this was the person that hurt everyone. Suddenly a voice was able to cut through his anger.  
  
"Hey now, let's not be hasty here.."  
  
Angry blue eyes bored into the calm youth, causing the youth to sigh and shake his heady. Before Ron could even move a gust of wind picked up and suddenly a metal cylinder flew from the annoyingly calm youth's belt to his hand. A moment later the same blue glowing blade was back that had severed the Death knight's hand. Swinging it in a horizontal slash, Ron suddenly realized he was in trouble. When the blade hit his chest, he thought,  
  
'I thought it'd hurt more to die.'  
  
Time froze as Ron's body sailed through the air. Tears formed in Ginny's eyes and Hermione screamed.  
  
Moments later Ron hit the ground. Everyone looked t him, fearing that he was dead. Many tense moments passed before Ron's still form moved. Everyone let out a sigh of relief as Ron moaned and sat up, looking at the grinning youth in complete shock. Each of his brothers had backed away and dropped their wands in shock and relief. Harry shook his head as he tried to repress his laughter and walked over to Ron, helping him stand. Turning around, he held his hand out and the metal hilt flew from the youth's hand to Harry's, a gust of cool air blowing in Ron's face as Harry deftly caught it and shook it in the direction of the grinning youth. Ron felt the place the blade had hit him and said dumbly,  
  
"I'm not dead yet?"  
  
Grinning Harry shook his head and tapped Ron's head with the weapon hilt softly  
  
"Now, now, play nice Ron. If you let Jared explain, maybe we can get through this quickly and get to more important matters without anymore 'accidents'. Ok?"  
  
Ron just stood looking at Harry in shock, wondering how he had taken the weapon from the youth that attacked him. Nodding dumbly, Ron looked at Jared and waited patiently.  
  
The youth shrugged and stuck his hand out, catching the cylinder as Harry tossed it back. Attaching it to his belt, he walked over to Ron and put an arm around his shoulder.  
  
"Nah, why would I kill you? I really don't need that kind of grief and guilt on my shoulders, plus the fact that your parents would kill me if I let that happen." Ron looked Jared in shock and blurted out,  
  
"You know my parents?"  
  
"Sure, how do you thing we knew you'd all be in Diagon Alley today? Their waiting for us in the castle, we found them yesterday and brought them here. Now, I'm sure you all have a million questions, but before I answer them, I'd like to get a few things out of the way. First, welcome to the Isle of Light. As you can see, it's filled with many creatures, both good and evil, so I'll ask you to be careful of where you go for now. You'll all be staying here for the foreseeable future, except for those attending Hogwarts. Second, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Jared, Harry's twin brother."  
  
------------------------------------  
  
Harry had expected the Weasley's to be a little surprised by Jared's revelation, maybe even a little doubting. He wasn't ready for the complete and utter silence that accompanied Jared's announcement. Harry waited a few moments to see if anyone would say anything. A full minute passed before he broke the silence.  
  
"Ok, this is ridiculous. I think we need to tell them what's going on. Let's get to the castle Jared. Come on you two"  
  
Grabbing Ginny and Hermione by the forearms Harry dragged them into the forest. Jared laughed and ran after his brother, leaving five very disturbed red haired young men behind. The first to recover were the twins, who said,  
  
"Did he just say..."  
  
"...he's Harry's twin brother?"  
  
Each of the Weasley's looked at each other, then turned to the forest and yelled at the same time,  
  
"HEY! Wait for us!"  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Hours later Jared was seated at the head of a large table facing the entire Weasley family, Hermione, Dumbledore and Harry, his brother.  
  
'It still feels a little strange saying that.strange, but good."  
  
Jared smiled as he remembered the reunion that had taken place between the Weasley children and their parents. Molly had immediately grabbed onto Ginny and cried till all of her tears were gone. When Molly had let her go, the first person she saw was Ron. Looking at him for a moment, Molly's eyes narrowed and she said,  
  
"You tried to do something to Jared, didn't you?"  
  
Jared snorted and covered him mouth at Ron's shocked expression. Molly tore into her son, saying that that was no way to treat someone that had gone and saved their whole family from being captured by Voldemort.  
  
'Wow, almost makes me glad I never had a mom that could do that to me.' , but when Molly pulled Ron into a bone crushing hug his heart fell at the thought he had just had..  
  
'No.I'd rather have my mother screaming bloody murder at me then not having her with me.'  
  
After the Weasley's had calmed Down, Jared motioned for them to follow him and they entered the room they were in now, a massive hall that could fit the entire population of Hogwarts in it with room to spare. Placing his elbows on the table, Jared closed his eyes and sighed. Everyone was silent as they waited for him to start explaining what was happening."  
  
"Well, the easiest part is to tell you exactly what kind of powers Harry and I have been using since we've rescued you this morning. I'm pretty sure you all saw Harry stun several of the Knights without a wand, right?"  
  
At the various nods, Jared smiled and rubbed his chin slowly.  
  
"Well, as you saw, wandless magic is very possible and is not limited by the type of spell. Harry could do the most complex charm ever and not need a wand. Harry, why not show them your patronus?"  
  
Harry grinned and waved his hand in front of him, a silvery mist forming into a silver stag. Everyone gaped at the patronus, amazed that such a thing was even possible without a wand. After it pawed the ground a few moments and tried to nuzzle Harry, the patronus faded from view.  
  
"Now, as for the other things that you all have seen us do...Harry and I are both what you would call Elemental Mages. Beings imbued with the ability to manipulate different Elements. Elemental Mages were created many millennia ago to help fight in a great conflict that was being waged across this world. The forces of darkness were beginning to force back the light. To win and bring the world back to a balanced state, it was decided that four wizards would have the powers of the elements imbued into them. The elements were Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water. Each of the wizards that were chosen had a special profession, Sentinel for Earth, Knight for Fire, Ranger for Wind and Sage for Water. In time, these for chose others to fight with them that had the ability and power to be Elementals. To lead the forces, a very special Mage was created, one that used all four elements. When combined the person became a Soldier of Light, the ultimate fusion of elemental power. Eventually the power to pass the gift of elemental power was placed into a Power Orb, allowing the Soldiers of Light to decide if someone was truly worthy. After the battle was won, people began to fear the Mages and hunted them down, not understanding that they were only trying to keep the world in balance. Within time, only a few of the Mages survived, living in hiding and not revealing what they could really do. But a ancient prophecy was written several millennia ago that said,  
  
'In the time of greatest darkness, two Soldiers of Light shall come forth to brighten our path. One shall be marked by evil, the other pure. Both shall be challenged with life trials far beyond their years and surpass all expectations. Great evil shall hunt them both but fail until the line of the Mages is restored. Though the path is hard, the peace at the end will be everlasting, the perfect balance finally attainable.' ,  
  
As you can see, Harry was marked by evil, yet I was not. Both of us have the ability to control earth, fire, wind and water to a greater or lesser degree depending on the element. For example, Harry and I are amazingly powerful wind rangers, yet pitifully weak earth sentinels. The most either of us can do is summon a small dirt storm, if even that. Harry's been hunted by Voldemort for over 15 years now but hasn't been truly beaten once yet. I've been hunted as well by other agents of evil for the same amount of time. All of the trials we have gone through are way beyond what people would expect two kids of 16 years to be able to go through. We are the two soldiers of light spoken of in the prophecy. We are here to restore the Mages and bring about a balance in the world of good and evil."  
  
Moments passed while no one said anything. You could hear a pin drop because of the deafening silence. Finally, Ginny cleared her throat.  
  
"So, your saying that you and Harry are some kind if uber Elemental mages that are destined to kill Voldemort and bring balance to the world?"  
  
Harry grinned at Ginny and nodded.  
  
"Essentially, yes"  
  
Ginny seemed to think it over for a moment and then replied,  
  
"So, you can use any of the four elements?"  
  
Jared nodded slightly and continued.  
  
"Yeah, we can. But usually there is an elemental type that is better suited to a Light Soldier so he normally stays with that type unless he needs to use the other three. Harry and I both normally use Wind Ranger abilities.  
  
Ron narrowed his eyes and pointed at the hilt at Harry's hip.  
  
"So, Wind Rangers use that I take it?"  
  
Harry nodded as he held the hilt in his hand and a green blade appeared.  
  
"Yes, the first Wind ranger saw the destructive powers of the other Elemental Mages and their ability to localize their powers. A down side to a Ranger is that his wind powers are usually either too small to really affect most people, like air currents to move things, or too destructive, like a tornado. So, the first Ranger created this, a Magus Blade, with the help of a RuneMaster."  
  
Hermione gasped and stood up rapidly, staring at the blade intently.  
  
"I've read about those! They are some of the rarest magical weapons around, and some of the most powerful according to legend, but no one has ever been able to figure out how to use them!"  
  
Jared smiled and pulled his own magus blade out and set it on the table.  
  
"Only a true wind ranger can fully use the Magus blade. I know for a fact that the knights Harry and I took out today aren't fully trained, their auras weren't right. They seemed to have the shield charm handled, maybe the severing charm, but I doubt they know how to use the blade fully. If you look closely, you'll see the runes etched into the hilt. These give the blade its different functions. Each rune represents a different charm or curse. There is the stunning curse, reducto curse, severing charm, shield charm and banishing charm. Each function can be used separately or together and some of them are even slightly different from their normal spells. In my opinion, reducto actually is a lot more useful in its altered form. Stab the blade into what you want to blow up, visualize the spot, and boom!"  
  
Hermione looked at the hilt with obvious desire to touch it. But Ginny's voice again interrupted her thoughts.  
  
"Oh, ok... So where exactly do we all fit in with the great scheme of things here?"  
  
Jared leaned back in his arm chair and took a deep breath then continued.  
  
"Well, we were wondering, who could we use to help restart the Order of Elements. Almost all of them were killed, the original lines are gone, the only ones left are too old and most do not have any children. Several Aurors came to mind, but were rejected just as quickly as we saw that integrating powers with people that old could have serious problems. We didn't want to start too young and then Harry told me all about you and what you have all done. I can think of no one better then all of you as the new group of Elemental Mages. Unfortunately Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are too old, I don't know how the new powers they would receive would affect them. Dumbledore....he's a special case. Everyone, meet the last surviving Water Sage in existence, Dumbledore."  
  
Everyone's eyes fell on the old wizard, watching his eyes continue to twinkle with repressed merriment.  
  
"Yes, I have been waiting a very, very long time for this day. One thing that young Jared here forgot to mention was the fact that all Elemental Mages can control their appearances to a certain degree and we age very slowly. I am in reality over a thousand years old, the last water elemental discovered at Hogwarts by the four founders. I have seen that school through more trials and disasters than anyone else could possibly imagine and I shall stay there for the rest of my life most likely. This fight has passed from me to you all. I have forgotten many things and others have been erased from my mind. I had completely forgotten about the isle so that it would remain secret till it was time for the prophecy to be fulfilled. You are the future of the Order of Elements, as I am its past."  
  
Jared smiled and rose from his chair, waving his hand over a flat wall. A doorway appeared and slid open silently.  
  
"Well then, any who wish to join the Order, please follow me." Harry watched as everyone stood and marched down the stairs. Smiling, Harry walked behind Ginny and sealed the door shut.  
  
----------------------------  
  
Ginny was nearly bursting with excitement as her family descended the hidden stairway to a secret chamber. As they reached the bottom, Ginny felt a hand land on her shoulder. Turning back, she was faced with the bright green eyes of Harry and his dazzling smile.  
  
'FOCUS! You will not act like a love struck fool! But he looks so handsome, especially now...ARGHHHH!!!!'  
  
Ginny mentally berated herself and bit on the inside of her cheek, trying to stay focused. Harry's eyes seemed to twinkle with repressed laughter, as if he knew that he was causing this inner turmoil.  
  
'I don't think I'm gonna survive to see Hogwarts if this keeps up.'  
  
Suddenly a bright light caught Ginny's attention. Another secret door had opened and a brilliant light had nearly blinded the group. Stepping through slowly, each member of the Weasley family was amazed at the room that stood before them. It looked a complete replica of the Great Hall, the only difference being that there were no tables, only a single stand that stood in the middle of the room. On top of this stand was a large obsidian orb. As Ginny leaned closer, she could make out different specks of light across its surface, blue and green then red and white. As Ginny's hand inched closer, a multitude of voices whispered into her ears, saying that she was doing the right thing, that all she needed to do was touch the orb. Looking to her left and right, Ginny saw that all of the others were doing the same, except for Dumbledore, her parents, Jared and Harry. At a reassuring nod from Harry, Ginny bit her bottom lip.  
  
'Well, you always said you'd do anything for him, why not show him you mean it."  
  
Reaching forward, Ginny was the first to put her hand on the orb. Moments later, all of her brothers had done the same, as had Hermione. As soon as Ginny's hand touched the orb, the whispers stopped and a sense of peace flowed over her, starting at her hand and moving from her head to her toes. Suddenly Jared's strong voice broke the silence  
  
"Good, you have all made a connection with the Orb of Power. Those voices you heard were the collected memories of past Elemental Mages. As you receive you powers, a part of you will also be copied to the orb, as such the Order will live forever. Your knowledge will be passed to future generations. Now, clear your minds and listen to my voice."  
  
Jared began to chant in an ancient tongue that Ginny couldn't understand. As Jared's voice began to rise in volume, Ginny felt a tingling feeling pass up her arm. Hearing a gasp from her side, Ginny saw a stream of water spiraling around Hermione's arm then make its way around her body. Looking down, she saw a similar stream of water around her body. Looking at her older brothers, Bill and Charlie were both wreathed in flaming pillars, George and Fred were surrounded by multiple floating rocks and Ron...for some reason, Ginny didn't see anything around Ron. Moments later, Jared stopped chanting and a finally burst of white light lit up the chamber. Ginny pulled her hand back and looked at it curiously, sensing the power coursing through her body. Looking up at Hermione, Ginny grinned as Harry stepped forward and placed his hands on Ginny and Hermione's shoulders.  
  
"As you have been chosen by your elements, I now give to you the titles you have earned. Ginny and Hermione, both of you posses great knowledge and wisdom. Your powers may not be as strong as others, but you brains get you past obstacles others can not pass. You both have been chosen as Water Sages."  
  
Jared looked at Fred and George for a moment and nodded.  
  
"Hmmm, interesting. Fred, George, you're both like the Earth. Wild, unpredictable, yet capable of great good. Your determination will never falter, just as the great mountains never do. You have been chosen as Earth Sentinels."  
  
Harry looked at Bill and Charlie for a moment and shook his head.  
  
"One of you breaks curses for a living, the other handles savage, brutal dragons. Fire has chosen you both. Fire is destructive, unpredictable and wild, yet it can warm the hearts of others and bring light and hope to all. You are the Fire Knights. "  
  
As Jared and Harry both stood before Ron, Ginny felt a niggling doubt in her mind.  
  
'What if he wasn't chosen like us? I didn't see an element around him.'  
  
Jared shook his head and sighed, Harry laughed aloud as he put his arm around Ron's shoulder.  
  
"Ron...so sneaky and devious, calculating and cold, all qualities you display when playing chess, a battle of wits. But when you are with friends, you produce feelings of warmth and companionship. You are a Ranger of the Wind as we are and as such have the same powers and abilities you have all seen Jared and I display today."  
  
Ron nearly fainted as he heard he would be doing the same things that Harry and Jared in Diagon Alley. Turning to the remaining adults, Jared raised his arms up and declared,  
  
"I give you the beginning of the new Order of the Elements."  
  
-------------------------------- ----  
  
Well, I guess I can leave this here for now, seeing as some of you may be wanting to read some more of my fic. Thanks to all the reviewers out there and enjoy till the next chapter comes out, which hopefully will be soon! 


	4. Chapter 3

I want to thank all those that have sent me reviews for this fic. You know, I'd work on this more and remember that I need to finish it if all the people would review, even if it was one word it would be enough for me to get back into writing a bit more so that you won't have to wait so long for the next chapter. Anyways, hope you enjoy it, not going to bother with the disclaimer cause you all know I don't own anything cept the idea of this fic and Jared...and other things that you'll find in this chapter. Enjoy!  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Britain was a country with a rich and vast history. Mighty kings and rulers managed the country from large castles that stood even in this day as a legacy to their mastery of this land. One such castle sat deep within a forest, hidden from preying eyes not only by the trees, but also darker arts. Voldemort looked out of the window of the throne room at the forest that surrounded him, a snarl seemingly stuck on his face permanently. Turning on his heel, Voldemort walked down the stairway where he normally sat and stood behind his trembling servants, gaining immense pleasure from their whimpers of pain and fear. In the center of the room knelt Wormtail and the only Death Knight that had not been captured at the attack on Diagon Alley. Stopping behind Wormtail, Voldemort's soft hissing voice penetrated the silence.  
  
"Now explain to me one more time please. Wormtail, how did Potter survive the explosion you arranged?"  
  
Trembling visibly, Wormtail managed to stammer  
  
"The muggles destroyed the house just like I arranged master..after I killed the muggles when they showed up for their payment I passed by the ruins to make sure everything had gone according to plan .the muggles said he wasn't in the house.they never found any remains.I don't know how he escaped!"  
  
"Crucio."  
  
Wormtail convulsed as the pain wracked his body, his screams echoing off the walls of the dungeons. Several minutes passed and Voldemort finally released his pitiful servant and leaned close to him. Finally after studying his pain wracked face Voldemort hissed in his ear,  
  
"Even though it was more then a month ago, I still torture you to show you to never fail me again! Never again!"  
  
Voldemort rose abruptly and looked at the other person waiting for his turn. The young Death Knight sat with his back straight, eyes wide open and staring at the wall. Voldemort shook his head slowly as he looked at the calm features of the Death Knight's face.  
  
"And you Pietro, what happened to you and your brethren? I was assured by the six of you that you would bring to me the Weasley's so that I could flush out Potter after Wormtail failed!!"  
  
Tense moments passed till the deep voice of the knight responded to Voldemort's question.  
  
"We were about to take them when two young men arrived. Both carried Magus Blades and seemed to have full control over them. One severed Rafael's hand and managed to defeat the others in combat. I left since I knew that I would be useless to face them in combat, none of us are a match for a fully trained Wind Ranger. I would have lost and you would not have been warned that there are two Wind Rangers to oppose you."  
  
Voldemort nodded slowly and stood and then glancing at the knight he said,  
  
"Crucio."  
  
Voldemort watched as the knight's muscles spasmmed but he never screamed, his resolve and determination holding in his anguish. Voldemort released the curse after a few minutes and sat in his throne, rubbing his forehead slowly.  
  
"So, five of the knights that I trained were captured, Potter's STILL missing, the Weasley family is also missing and 2 fully trained Wind Rangers are ruining my plans. Does anyone have any good news to tell me?"  
  
-------------------- ------------  
  
Jared watched as the Weasley's said their goodbyes to their children. Dumbledore stood of to the side, watching the tearful separation. Jared and Harry stood by the castle doors, leaning against the walls and smiling as they saw Mrs. Weasley berating Ron  
  
"Now Ron, behave yourself and listen to everything that Jared and Harry say! You're all our best hope for winning this war so train hard and make us proud!"  
  
After giving all her children a last hug Dumbledore stepped forward and spoke.  
  
"I'll expect to see most of you at the opening feast for Hogwarts. I have a few things to prepare for the school, as well as several things that Jared has asked me to prepare. I may pop in from time to time to see how you are all proceeding in your training."  
  
Dumbledore waved his hand in the air and a glowing portal appeared. As soon as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Dumbledore moved to walk through the portal but Jared stopped him with a shout.  
  
"Albus! Wait a sec."  
  
Jared ran over and spoke with the ancient wizard and spoke with him quietly for a few moments. Finally Albus nodded and smiled at Jared then stepped through the portal. Jared walked back to the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry and grinned.  
  
"Well, it's set. I'll be going with you four to Hogwarts for the start of the year. Now, follow me."  
  
As the seven youths filed after him and Harry, Hermione broke the silence and asked  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
Jared flashed a smile at them and said,  
  
"First rule for a soldier. Food first, then work,"  
  
------------------------------------  
  
Harry grinned at his friends and family, watching them eating and laughing. It was almost night, the sun was starting to fall and the fire was casting large shadows in the corners of the room. Looking down the table Harry's eyes focused on Ginny as she laughed as the antics of George and Fred. Both of them were trying to charm the salt and pepper shakers to jump on the heads of Bill and Charlie and dump their contents all over them. Looking to the side, Harry saw a large bucket of water and let an evil grin form over his face. Motioning to Jared, his brother watched as Harry lifted the bucket using his wind power that raised the bucket over the twin's heads. Jared nodded eagerly and Harry released his power, the bucket dropping on top of the two and soaking them completely. Everyone stared at the two sopping pranksters and burst out laughing. Jared stood and raised his hands, motioning for them all to settle down.  
  
"Now that we've eaten a bit and the pranks are out of our systems now, maybe I can answer a few questions that you all have."  
  
Ron fidgeted nervously then finally blurted out,  
  
"So, do we need to train to get our powers or do they just come naturally to us?" Harry looked at Ron in shock and then laughed.  
  
"Oh no Ron, you're not getting an easy way out of this. You all need a lot of training, you'll all be getting taught by Jared and myself and c couple of others."  
  
"So Jared old bean."  
  
".what will we be doing with ourselves after this training?"  
  
Jared grinned widely at the twins and leaned back in his chair.  
  
"Well Fred and George, have you ever wanted to make a difference in the war?"  
  
When the twins both nodded he clapped his hands together.  
  
"Well that's what you'll do. We will be the rallying point for this war. Through us all people will see that Voldemort can be defeated and that it just requires that we work together We'll also be the ones that'll take on missions that would make others run in fear. This job will be very dangerous, so you all must be ready for it."  
  
Hermione raised her hand and Jared looked at her in surprise.  
  
"Umm, Hermione? We're not in class, you can just ask your question." Hermione blushed slightly and finally managed to get out,  
  
"What about the ministry? Won't they know that we're using our magic outside of school?" Harry snorted and Jared shook his head in bemusement.  
  
"Nope, the ministry will have no clue that you're using magic. There's a barrier that prevents any type of detection of that kind to get through. If that wasn't there this island wouldn't be here this day, it'd probably be destroyed or occupied by people  
  
Hermione touched her finger to her chin for a moment then blurted out,  
  
"You were saying that you had to be trained to use a Magus blade. I was wondering how Voldemort was able to train his Death Knights to use theirs." Jared sighed and sat back in his seat then spoke softly.  
  
"Tom..or Voldemort, which ever you prefer, was a very special person. He was brilliant in magical arts and had a natural affinity for fighting techniques. He was also descended from the line of the original Wind Rangers. The last surviving Wind Ranger was able to find two people to help train so that they could keep the traditions of the Wind Rangers alive. One was Tom, the other was our father."  
  
Jared paused for a moment and Harry's voice broke in, continuing the story.  
  
"The Wind Ranger's name was Gurney Halleck. He was an amazing warrior. Cunning, resourceful and very cautious. He makes Moody look rash. From what we've been told, our father was an amazing student as well, even more adept at using his powers then Tom. Tom became jealous and tried harder and harder to overcome dad's progress, knowing that if he was stronger then him he would have very few rivals in this world when he decided to make his move."  
  
Everyone remained silent as this new information was slowly being digested then finally Hermione broke the silence.  
  
"But wouldn't Wind Ranger Halleck have been able to know if Voldemort was evil?"  
  
Jared nodded slowly and rested hid hands on the table.  
  
"Normally, yes he would have, most Mages can sense evil from people. But Tom had found some very ancient magic while looking for a way to gain immortality. He found a way to 'partition' his mind. Basically he was able to hide part of his mind from everyone else. He let all of his evil ambitions and desires go into this partition, the only thing that he retained was the need to be better than anyone else. When he reached the end of his training the partition was broken and he struck out at Halleck and killed him. Dad escaped with the help of some of the elves that were with them. Tom was fully trained, but fortunately he never remembered much." Hermione looked at Jared in confusion.  
  
"What do you mean he never remembered much? I thought you said he was fully trained."  
  
"Sure, he was fully trained to be an Elemental Mage but it seems that Halleck was a Mage you would never want to cross. He was always thinking that someone would try and double cross him. As soon as he knew that Tom was trying to double cross him, he cast a very ancient memory charm on Tom. It was extremely powerful and was never used since no one was able to ever remove it completely. Tom killed him in a fit of anger after that. He was able to remember that he had been trained but couldn't remember how to do anything that he had learned. Guess he's been able to remove part of the block now since we have some half trained Wind rangers running around. Hopefully the rest of the block will hold up until we can defeat him"  
  
Bill and Charlie looked at each other then Bill cleared his throat.  
  
"So, what exactly will we be learning?"  
  
Harry's eyes twinkled in excitement as he stood up. Holding his hands in front of him, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  
  
"Something ...like this."  
  
As those words left his mouth a column of flame jumped from the hearth into his outstretched hands. Ginny and Hermione shrieked in fright then looked at Harry dumbly when he shook with suppressed laughter. Moments later the flames fell to the ground and began to change in shape. A moment later a Griffin stood before Harry, stretching his wings and opening its beak and letting out a shriek  
  
Harry let out a deep breath and the flame creature vanished. Bill and Charlie's eyes gleamed in amazement and they said,  
  
"Harry, you'll be showing us how to do that?" Harry laughed softly and shook his head.  
  
"Nope, sorry. I'm not your trainer. I'll be working with the girls mostly. Jared has the ability to train you better then I can. My talents rest with Water and Air, his with Air and Fire. We're both piss poor with Earth, so we have a special teacher for the twins."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
As soon as the words left the twins mouths a gravelly voice said,  
  
"That'll be me!" Heavy footfalls echoed through the halls as the mysterious figure stepped into the light. Harry stood and put his arm around the man and said,  
  
"May we present Quistis, Earth Sentinel and your teacher!" Fred and George's mouths dropped as they gapped at the visage of their new teacher.  
  
Every eye focused on Quistis and the room fell completely silent. Jared covered his mouth and coughed as he tried to hold in his laughter, Harry trying to do the same but failing miserably. Quistis looked at Harry from the corner of his eye and sighed.  
  
"And here you said that this lot would provide a lot of entertainment for me! Look at'em, all silent and acting like someone's stunned'em!"  
  
"Well sorry Quistis, I didn't expect you to traumatize them just by looking at them, must be the ears." Quistis slapped his hand against his forehead and shook it for a moment then sighed  
  
"All right you lot, I know, it's amazing, I'm an Elf, a lost race, never seen something like me, right? Well knock it off! I don't like the staring, weird looks and such that come from the ears, so give it a rest will ya?"  
  
Everyone finally broke out of their staring and fidgeted a little more in their seats, not knowing what to say. Jared saw how uncomfortable they were and said,  
  
"When I said that dad escaped with the help of elves, I didn't mean house elves. Quistis is a High Elf, one of a large colony that actually lives on the island. They helped to teach me what I needed to know to use my powers. The actually have one of the largest libraries in the world here and it has a sorts of stuff to help with training Elemental Mages. Yes Hermione, you can use the library whenever you want."  
  
Harry chuckled when Hermione gave Jared a big hug and squealed like a little girl that just got sweets.  
  
'Never thought I'd see anyone so happy about going to a library."  
  
"Ok, time to sleep you lot, we got a lot to do tomorrow and this is a lot to take in. Wander around a bit and find a room that you like, it'll be the one you use while you're here. We've only got a month till you have to go back to Hogwarts and we need you to all have the basics of your powers. We'll see you all bright and early tomorrow morning."  
  
---------------------------------------  
  
Ginny slowly opened her door and crept down the hallway. Night time was always too long for the youngest Weasley. Ever since Ginny had been in the Chamber of Secrets her sleep had always been plagued by disturbing dreams and many a sleepless night. Most nights Ginny would sit on the couch in the family room with a book to pass the time, but since she was in the Citadel she thought a little exploration was in order.  
  
'Besides, you never know what you'll find. Maybe this is the way to the kitchen, I could use a snack."  
  
Makes her way down the hall Ginny stopped, her heart pounding as a strange sound echoed along the hallway. Looking around the corner Ginny sees Jared leaning against the wall, a metal coin on the ground before him turning in an endless circle. Just as Ginny was about to turn around and leave, Jared's voice broke the silence.  
  
"Ginny, want to join me? I could use some company." Ginny flushed a bit, wondering how he knew she had even been there since he hadn't looked up. Ginny walked out into the open, watching as the coin sped up slightly. Sitting beside Jared Ginny watched as the coin began to pick up speed and finally broke the silence again.  
  
"How are you doing that?"  
  
Jared looked up and flashed a smile at the young girl.  
  
"Wind power. Like I said before, most Wind Rangers didn't have very good control over their abilities. It was either a small breeze, or a raging tornado. I've worked a long time to try and get my powers down to a science and I think I'm almost there. It took me two years of hard practice to even do this for a short time without causing the coin to blow away." Raising his hand slightly, Ginny felt a slight breeze pick up and the coin lifted off the ground, hovering in the air and still spinning  
  
"Will I be able to do something like that?"  
  
Jared looked at Ginny and shook his head and the coin dropped into his hand.  
  
"No, something more like this." As Jared finished his sentence, Ginny gasped as she saw water start flowing through the air towards Jared's out stretched hand and formed a perfect replica of the coin. A moment later the air around the water coin crackled and dropped into Jared's palm. Jared glanced at Ginny from the corner of his eye and tossed the coin at her. Ginny grabbed it from the air and nearly dropped it in shock.  
  
"It's so cold!" Jared chuckled and nodded  
  
"Sage Ice. If anyone other then a Water sage touched it they'd have frostbitten fingers by now. I can teach you to do that and much more." Leaning back Jared closed his eyes and pulled his magus blade from his belt and spun it nimbly across the back of his hand.  
  
"So Ginny, why are you up so late? You have a long day tomorrow. Remember, training."  
  
Ginny bit her lip and clenched her fists.  
  
"Can't sleep.actually, I never sleep well, not since.  
  
"The Chamber of Secrets." Ginny looked at Jared in shock and her mouth dropped open  
  
"Harry told me about what happened to you. I had a feeling that was what caused you to be here tonight."  
  
"And what about you? Why aren't you sleeping?"  
  
"Harry."  
  
"Harry?"  
  
Jared nodded slowly and motioned with his head towards the closed door beside him.  
  
"You're not the only one with bad dreams. First week here he nearly gave me a heat attack when he had a nightmare. The screaming had me thinking that someone was killing him. I burst into his room with my magus blade and saw him thrashing around the bed. I grabbed onto him and held him till he woke up. He just started crying and wouldn't let go.I couldn't leave him like that so I stayed with him all night. Most nights since then, either I stay with him in the room or outside the door, just in case he needs me." Jared's eyes drooped down and his head fell forward. He caught himself and stood abruptly, shaking his head and stretching his arms. Ginny stood and rested her hand on Jared's arm.  
  
"Jared, I don't think he'd want you to not sleep just to help him like this." Jared nodded and he sighed.  
  
"I just feel so guilty! I mean, my life was no picnic, but I could have been there with him, I could have helped him all those times he was in trouble! He's been through so much, much more then anyone as young as us should ever go through!"  
  
Jared wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and sighed. Ginny came closer and pulled Jared into a hug and held him. Jared stiffened for a moment then returned the hug, burying his face into Ginny's neck. After a few minutes he pulled back and smiled.  
  
"Thanks. Sorry I kinda broke down there, it's been hard, for the both of us. I mean, finding out you have a brother is a big shock. You can't just get over not being with him for the last 16 years in a month. Thanks Ginny, I guess I needed that hug."  
  
Ginny blushed brightly and Jared chuckled. Releasing the Ginny, Jared slid down the wall and sat on the stone floor again. Leaning his head against the stone wall, his breathing slowed and finally he drifted off to sleep. Ginny smiled as she watched the grim expression leave his face.  
  
"Accio blanket."  
  
As soon as the blanket arrived Ginny covered Jared with it and kissed his cheek. Brushing some of his hair from his face, Ginny smiled.  
  
'He looks so much like Harry and acts so much like he does. I wish they both didn't have to go through any of this, that they were just normal kids like everyone else, worrying about acne and girls.'  
  
Ginny rose and headed back to her room, knowing that the morning was coming and she and the others would need their sleep, since things would only get more difficult from here on in.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Ginny was right that things would get hectic for the new Elemental Mages. As the days flew past, they were taught a multitude of new skills; Wandless Magic, various defensive and offensive spells, hand to hand combat, weapons skills, several powers that all Elemental Mages shared and finally powers that were specific to each element.  
  
While Ron, Bill and Charlie used air currents and heat to fly, Hermione, Ginny and the twins were learning to travel through water and the earth. Obstacle courses were organized to have them work together as a team, playing off of each others abilities and maximizing their chances for success. At all time Jared and Harry were around, giving pointers and criticizing. They visited with the elves often and learned their language and magic. Everyone studied several hours each day in the library on the topics that interested them most, be it potions, Dark Arts, or in Hermione's case everything. Hermione had even gone so far as to move her room to the library so that she could always have the book on hand that she wanted.  
  
As the weeks rolled past, each of the new mages were changing mentally and physically. Many of them had grown between four to eight inches and had become very well defined. Hermione and Ginny were filling out nicely, their bodies becoming very curvy and toned from all the exercise and work they were doing and becoming a distraction for all of the males in their little group. Finally the weeks had passed and it was time for Harry, Jared, Ron, Hermione and Ginny to leave for Hogwarts.  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
Hermione yawned as the first rays of sunlight peaked over the horizon. Looking out the open window she saw a multitude of brightly colored birds fly by and she smiled.  
  
'This place is amazing, I wonder what else that Island has in store for us.'  
  
Rising up, Hermione stretched and pulled on her clothes she had laid out the night before. Yawning, Hermione was just about to step out of her room when she heard a loud yelling coming from down the hall. Moments later a crashing sound was heard, followed by Harry screaming,  
  
"JUST WAIT TILL I GET YOU! I'LL BE AN ONLY CHILD AGAIN!"  
  
Running out of her room, Hermione nearly collapsed in uncontrollable laughter when she looked at Harry.  
  
His hair was pink. Bright...neon...pink.  
  
Jared grinned from ear to ear as he hovered in the air, laughing hysterically. Harry shot a death glare at his brother and Jared's laughter trailed off to a light chuckle.  
  
"Aw, didn't Harry like his wake up call?"  
  
Harry glared at his brother and waved a hand at him, a blast of air slamming him against the wall. Jared dropped to the ground in a crouch and then dove at his brother and threw a right hook at his chin. Harry stepped back and slammed his palm into Jared's back, sending him towards the ground. Jared rolled forward and landed back on his feet and smiled at his brother.  
  
"You know you'll never beat me in hand to hand combat bro."  
  
"And you know you can never match my magical powers."  
  
Both brothers stared at each other for several long moments then burst out laughing. Harry threw his arm around Jared's shoulder and sighed. Looking a Hermione's slack jaw expression, Harry smiled and nodded in Hermione's direction  
  
"Well, guess we should wake the troops. Hey Hermione, ready to head back to Hogwarts?"  
  
The brothers turned the corner and left Hermione wondering what exactly happened between the two of them. Suddenly Harry's statement penetrated her tired mind and Hermione epped, running back to her room to get her things back.  
  
It was time to go back to Hogwarts  
  
-------------------------  
  
The castle was in an uproar. Hermione was racing from room to room, looking for anything that she had forgotten, Ron was bouncing from foot to foot, Ginny looked at the stairs as if expecting someone. Moments later Harry ran down the steps and stopped in front of his friends.  
  
"So how are we getting to get to Kings Cross?"  
  
Jared suddenly appeared behind Ginny and Hermione and said,  
  
"Well, Harry, Me and Ron will be flying, you two will go by port key." Hermione jumped away in surprise from Jared while Ginny laughed at her friend's reaction. Jared grinned and tossed a large coin to Hermione and Ginny and said as they were disappearing,  
  
"Don't worry, we'll see you soon!"  
  
Hermione and Ginny appeared in the alleyway beside King's Cross. Leaning out of the alley way the two witches slipped into the large crowd and made their way to the portal for the Hogwarts express. As the two of them passed through the barrier, both young girls smiled at the sight before them. Students were milling around the red engine, some saying good bye to parents, others talking animatedly with friends and others still looking around nervously.  
  
"Hermione! Ginny!" Both witches turned around to the new voice and broke into wide smiles as Neville ran up to them. Neville stopped in shock as soon as he got a good look at Hermione and Ginny and blushed fiercely. Hermione sighed and smiled at Neville. Ginny merely shook with held in laughter as Hermione walked beside Neville.  
  
"Neville! You look amazing! What have you been up to this summer?"  
  
Neville blushed a little and rested a hand on the back of his head. It looked like he had lost a lot of the extra weight he had and toned up a bit. His hair was cut short and spiked, giving him a more daring appearance.  
  
"My uncle is a squib. He joined the military and decided that I needed some work this summer to get me into shape after hearing about our little 'expedition' to the Ministry of Magic at the end of last year. I've been training with him all summer long, guess it did some good eh?"  
  
Hermione nodded and the three chatted for a few moments until Neville looked around for someone.  
  
"Hey, where are Harry and Ron?"  
  
Hermione bit her lower lip and looked at the clock  
  
'10:55.where are those three?!?"  
  
"I'm sure that they'll be along soon Neville, let's find a compartment, alright?" The three Gryffindor's entered the train and found an empty compartment. They all looked anxiously outside the window for their missing friends but as the train started to pull out of the station they still hadn't seen them and a very pissed of Hermione and Ginny were thinking the same thing.  
  
'WHERE THE HELL ARE THOSE THREE?!?!?!"  
  
Well, there's Chapter 3. Where the hell are those three? Will there be more Elemental Mages? What do you think Jared will do to Snape and Malfoy when he sees them? Stay tuned and find out, LOL.  
  
Sorry it took so long, like I said I'm going through a rough time in my life right now so I didn't have much desire to do this for a while. Hopefully the next bit will be out sooner. 


	5. Chapter 4

Yes, I know, it's been over three months since I updated this, I know that I deserve to be smacked in the head for not getting this done sooner, but lemme tell you, personal life issues really suck and take up your time. Especially when it involves a girl that acts like she wants to be with you then dumps you over MSN and gets back with her old boyfriend......must remain calm, must not destroy computer in fit of anger....anyways, here's the next part of the story folks, enjoy! Oh yeah, HermioneGreen, cause of your idea of what would happen, this chapter turned out the way it did! If any of you have any other ideas or suggestions you'd like to share, do so.  
  
*********  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Azure skies were all that Jared could see. Just the deep blue sky, white clouds all around and the deep green foliage below It was , in a word...Perfect. Rolling lazily to the side, Jared did a muggle barrel roll, whooping in excitement as he sped up and shot between Ron and Harry, forcing the two to veer to the side so they wouldn't be knocked from the sky  
  
"Hey! Quit hogging the sky Jared!" Harry laughed as Ron shook his fist at Jared angrily.  
  
"Ron, let him have some fun. After all he'll be cooped up in the castle all day, Hermione'll be telling him that he should be studying... after what his life has been like, it'll be torture." Ron looked at Harry and cocked his head to the side, a confused expression crossing his features.  
  
"What do you mean, 'after what his life has been like'? Does this have something to do with him being raised by the elves?"  
  
Harry nodded and raced off after his brother, who still was pulling of different aerodynamic stunts that would make a normal person nauseous just watching him.  
  
"Yeah Ron, it does. Elves aren't like humans in more then one way. They prefer living in a more open place, more natural. Jared only ever slept in the castle these last few months since me and the rest of you arrived. Not to mention the fact that elves allow everyone to take their own pace at learning magic. Jared's amazing with charms and transfigurations, as well as DADA. But potions.... that's another story." Flying beside his brother, Harry smacked him in the back of the head and whispered something to him. Pulling back, Jared looped around behind Ron and then flew beside him.  
  
"So Ron... there's something we need to talk about." Ron nodded absently as he focused on his flying since he was still a little unsteady at times.  
  
"Harry tells me you play Quidditch. Keeper, right?" As Ron nodded, Jared rolled over, as if he was on his back and crossed his arms.  
  
"Think you could teach me a thing or two about Quidditch? I'd love to play sometime."  
  
Jared watched as Ron turned to him, an almost maniacal grin on his face. Jared suddenly developed a nervous twitch above his cheek and thought,  
  
'Oh man, what's with that look?'  
  
Suddenly Ron exploded into a detailed and thorough account of Quidditch and its rules, positions and history. After several moments, Jared held up a hand to stop Ron.  
  
"Whoa! Hang on, I have just one question. Does it state anywhere that you need to stay on a broom for the game?" Ron's brow furrowed and he remained silent for a moment then began to shake his head slowly.  
  
"No .... nothing in the rules says you have to stay on your broom. Why, thinking of playing like this?" Ron shrank back a bit from the gleam in Jared's eyes as he replied  
  
"Oh no, something much, much worse in store for those I play against."  
  
Turning ahead, Jared took off ahead of the other two boys. Harry flew up beside Ron and nudged him after he didn't move for a minute or two. Looking at his best friend, Ron gulped and said shakily.  
  
"Harry? Remind me to never piss off you brother... he can be pretty scary at times."  
  
Harry chuckled and shook his head.  
  
"Scary? Jared? Nah, he's just crazy. Hurry up now Ron, we have to get to Hogwarts before the train gets in. I don't want to see Hermione's expression when she realizes that we ditched them to fly to school."  
  
***********  
  
Several hours passed in silence as the three youths flew over the Scottish countryside, mile after mile of greenery passed underneath of them. Finally, four massive towers broke over the horizon and Jared stopped in mid air. Harry and Ron stopped beside him and watched as a smile formed on his face. He only said two words, but both of his friends smiled as he said them.  
  
"We're home"  
  
***********  
  
Severus Snape was never a very man, especially when it came to Harry Potter and his 'friends'. But when Dumbledore asks you to do something, you best do it quickly and correctly.  
  
"Potter can't come on the train like all the other students...Oh no, why should he be treated like a normal boy, he is after all famous Harry Potter."  
  
Thinking back on the conversation that he had with Dumbledore, Severus realized he had forgotten to ask how the boy was going to arrive. How would he suddenly appear by the lake? Broomstick? Portkey? Sighing in frustration and resignation, Severus sat down on the shore of the lake and waited impatiently. Minutes stretched to ten, then ten minutes to half an hour. Finally when Severus was about to give up, a black speck appeared above the trees, a speck that was suddenly growing larger. Intrigued, Severus watched as the form began to take shape. Suddenly, panic rose up in his throat as the black form raced along the top of the lake, it's speed throwing up waves on either side of the dark figure that was now visible as he came closer. Suddenly the dark figure went vertical, still moving forward but at a strange angle. As the shape drew nearer, Severus's eyes widened in fear as a rather large tidal wave formed in front of the now easily identifiable flying man, blocking Snape's view of him. He was so completely awed by the size of the wave he didn't even have the time to cast a shielding charm to protect himself. Moments later a very angry and wet Snape was sputtering as he wiped water from his face. Glaring up, Severus met the smug look of a strangely familiar young man who had his arms crossed before him. Jumping to his feet, Severus pulled his wand and was about to curse the smug youth when he saw another tidal wave approaching. The youth waved his hand and took off straight into the air. The only thing going through Snape's mind now was 'Oh shi...'  
  
Jared grinned as Snape was thrown from his feet by the second tidal wave. Dropping to the ground, Jared saw Ron drop beside him. Harry grinned as he dropped to the ground, landing lightly on the balls of his feet.  
  
"So, this is Snape eh? Well, you were right on the money saying that he's a greasy haired git." Leaning down, Jared patted the soaking potions master on the head and flew towards the castle. Harry and Ron merely shook their heads as they followed, leaving a very wet, angry and confused Snape lying on the ground.  
  
************  
  
Moments later the three boys were jumping from one banister to the next, making the normally long climb up all those stairs last only a few moments. Stopping in front of Dumbledore's office, Jared turned to his brother and friend.  
  
"Ok you two, I need to talk with Dumbledore about something. You two wait here, I think he's going to want to talk with you as well." Leaning forward, Jared whispered the password to the gargoyle, waved cheerily then hovered up towards Dumbledore's door. Harry slid down the wall and closed his eyes, letting out a breath. Looking up, Harry grinned as Ron began to pace back and forth nervously.  
  
"Ron, you look like your going to have a heart attack, what's the matter mate?" Ron looked at Harry, his eyes wide and said,  
  
"I just realized Hermione's going to kill us."  
  
Harry nodded slowly and shrugged.  
  
"Oh well. But Hermione's been mad at us before, why are you so bent out of shape this time?"  
  
Ron stopped pacing and looked at Harry, his eyes wide and filled with a strange look of... dread? Or was that fear?  
  
"You have no idea what she's really like when Hermione's really angry Harry!"  
  
Harry furrowed his brow and stood. The raven haired youth slowly advanced on Ron and a smile began to form on his face.  
  
"Ron, how do you know how angry she'll be? Is there something you haven't told me?"  
  
Ron mumbled something below his breath and Harry moved closer  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"I SAID ME AND HERMIONE ARE GOING OUT NOW!"  
  
Harry grinned widely and leaned against the wall  
  
"Oh really? And how did this happen?" Ron's face turned a deep red as he began his story  
  
*Flashback*  
  
Ron pulled the elvish sword from its scabbard and ran through several drills that Jared taught him, the silvery blade flashing in the low candle light. As Ron started to fall into the routine, his mind began to wander to the problem he had been having as of late. Every time he saw Hermione lately, a strange feeling came over him and he felt all jittery and knotted up inside. The only way the confused Wind Ranger knew how to react to these strange feelings was to run away and avoid the girl he had once called his best friend. Growling in frustration, Ron sliced through a wooden beam like a knife through butter, watching the inoffensive piece of wood fall to the floor.  
  
'What the hell is wrong with me? Every time I see her I feel this way, and it's not getting better, if anything it's getting worse! I know she's changed a lot in the last few weeks, we all have, but that's no reason for me to act this way! But, she sure has gotten more beautiful, course she didn't have to change...'  
  
Ron's train of thought stopped slowly as the reason finally hit him.  
  
'Bloody hell, I think I'm in love with her. That must be what the feeling is...'  
  
Ron smiled as he felt the thrill of the realization flow through him, his sword flashing faster and faster before him as he finished the routine. Wiping the sweat from his brow, the youth froze as he heard soft clapping from behind him. Wiping around quickly, Ron nearly ran forward towards the person he wanted to see more then anyone else at the moment, Hermione. But as soon as he saw the scowl on her pretty face, Ron knew something was going to happen, something that he may not like.  
  
"Well done. Of course, it's only a practice routine, nothing like the real thing. How good do you think you'll do against the real thing Ronald?"  
  
Ron winced as he heard his full name said with such anger. Ron saw the flickering light flowing over Hermione's face as she walked towards him, a slender sword in her hand.  
  
"Hermione?" What are you doing here?"  
  
Hermione let the tip of her sword scrape along the floor for a moment then she brought it back up, right under Ron's chin. As Hermione trailed the cold steel down Ron's neck he shivered slightly.  
  
"Well, you've been avoiding me for so long Ron, I was wondering if we were even friends anymore...please, tell me why you're avoiding me?"  
  
Ron gulped loudly and scratched his head as he attempted to answer.  
  
"Ummm, well I've been a little busy... training and all...."  
  
'That sounds so bloody lame, even to me! Why can't I just tell her how I felt and that it bloody scared me?'  
  
"So, you're not trying to avoid me? Running out of rooms the moment you see me? Acting like I'm a person with the plague, a person to be shunned and ignored at all costs? Oh, you could have fooled me Ron."  
  
Raising it to a ready position, Hermione exhaled and grinned tightly.  
  
Not saying anything, Hermione lunged at Ron, driving the sword for his stomach. Ron jumped back and pulled his sword from its sheath, barely blocking the blade that was aimed at his stomach.  
  
'She's not kidding this time!'  
  
"What the hell do you think your doing Hermione?!?" Ron continued to dodge and block as Hermione viciously advanced, hacking and slashing at her friend. Growling in frustration, Hermione stabbed her sword forward and was blown flat on her back from a gust of wind.  
  
"What the hell was that? FIGHT ME!" Hermione jumped to her feet and thrust her hand right hand out, a blast of ice cold water catching Ron in the chest and sending him flying back into the wall. Wincing, Ron rose to his feet and dropped his sword to the ground and let his arms hang at his sides.  
  
"No."  
  
Hermione looked at Ron in anger and stalked forward. Stopping in front of him, she whispered, "Why not?" Tears formed in Hermione's eyes and Ron pulled her close to him, holding her in his arms. Taking a deep breath, Ron whispered in Hermione's ear,  
  
"Because... I...love you."  
  
*End Flashback*  
  
Harry grinned as he watched Ron continue with his pacing. Moments later Jared floated down from Dumbledore's doorway and leaned towards his brother and whispered,  
  
"Ok, everything is ready, operation 'Give Snape a Heart Attack' is a go. And what's his problem?'  
  
Harry snickered and recounted Ron's story, which of course had Jared laughing loudly and rolling on the ground at his friends perdicament. Moments later Jared stood and wiped his eyes.  
  
"Ok you two, we've got a lot to prepare for. We've got a few things Dumbledore wants us to handle, like strengthening the wards around the school before the other students get here. Next will be observation of the grounds for possible attacks and setting up appropriate defenses. Ron, I'm leaving you in charge of that since you're the tactician expert of the three of us. Harry and I will get to work on the wards, and then we need to get another little surprise going, so we'll meet up with you later."  
  
Ron nodded quickly then made his way outside, while the Potter brothers ventured further into the castle. As they reached the stairways, they both jumped down to the Third level corridor and opened the large wooden door there. Peering inside, Harry looked back at his brother and grinned.  
  
"Oh, Snape is going to have a heart attack when he sees this!"  
  
**************  
  
Harry grinned as he watched the students filing into the Great Hall from his vantage point in the ceiling. Thanks to the concealment charms that Jared had taught him, no one had a clue that someone was watching their every move. Harry watched as several Slytherins took their seats, a strange light playing around their bodies. It took Harry a moment to realize that the charms he had cast had also given him the ability to see certain spells cast on people.  
  
'Thing is, I've never seen spells like that....'  
  
"Jared, look at those Slytherins." Jared looked over at the group that Harry was pointing out and nodded slowly.  
  
"You see it too? It's Imperius. Two on the left, one on the far right. They're not the only ones, look at that group over there... Looks like several of the students are either not very loyal or just convenient spies."  
  
Harry nodded and continued looking as the rest of the students sat down to wait for the first years.  
  
'Guess we'll have our work cut out for us this year...'  
  
Jared nudged his brother in the ribs and pointed to his left. Harry saw that Hermione was wearing a massive scowl as she scanned her sight back and forth over the crowd.  
  
"Ooooooh, she's pissed off bro.....Tell me, how do you and Ron handle situations like this?"  
  
"Honestly? We'd run for cover as soon as we can. Especially now since she's become more powerful, after all her training that we gave here I don't want to see what she can do when she's really mad."  
  
Jared shook his head ruefully as he saw Ron slip unnoticed through the throng of students when suddenly he got just a little to close to Hermione. Just as Ron realized his mistake and was about to make a break for it, said girl began turning her gaze towards Ron, who seemed to be doing a very good impression of a deer caught in the headlights.  
  
"Uh oh, here it comes, get ready for the explosion."  
  
Harry and Jared both winced as soon as Hermione's eyes crossed Ron's path and she vaulted over the table, knocking the stunned Ranger to the ground. Even though they were almost 30 meters away they could still here Hermione clearly and were both glad that they were not Ron right now as his girlfriend started to ream him out for ditching her on the train, her shrill voice echoing off of the walls of the Great Hall.  
  
"Harry? Next time you talk with Ron.....IF there's a next time, tell him I'm glad he's with her and I'm not."  
  
Harry nodded while a huge grin formed on his face.  
  
"You and me both brother."  
  
"On the other hand, I think we should ask dear Hermione where she learned all that swearing from.....it may come in useful one day."  
  
Harry grinned at his brother and chuckled softly.  
  
"Well, we better get this taken care of, I suppose. Are you sure you're ready for this? From what I've read, it could be pretty intense."  
  
Jared took a steadying breath and nodded.  
  
"Just be glad you have some of Voldemort's magical essence in you, it masked your signature enough that this never would have happened to you. Guess we may as well sit with the others."  
  
Jared and Harry both released the sticking charms on their hands and feet and silently dropped to the ground just in front of the Head table. Moving slowly and silently, they stopped right behind Ginny winked at each other. Leaning forward, Harry whispered in Ginny's ear  
  
"Boo."  
  
Jared covered his ears as the ear splitting scream shook the air around them. Harry quickly dropped the invisibility charm while everyone was staring at her then sat beside Ginny, flashing her a large grin. After a few seconds of heavy breathing, Ginny slowly turned her head towards Harry and glared at him. Only three words left the redheaded girl's mouth, three words that caused Harry to fidget nervously  
  
"You...will....pay..."  
  
Jared chuckled as he also dropped his invisibility when he was sure no one was looking and sat beside his brother. Several students looked at him strangely, wondering who he was and what he was wearing since it wasn't the normal Hogwarts uniform. Instead of the normal uniform, both Jared and Harry were wearing loose black pants, a pair of comfortable black boots and a long sleeved green shirts that seemed to hug their upper bodies slightly, showing off a bit of the muscle definition that the two had. Many of the girls at the table were giving both Jared and Harry very appreciative glances as their eyes wandered over them, seeing the changes that had happened in the last few months. Unfortunately it seemed that most of the males at the table were shooting death glares at the two boys cause of the attention they were receiving. Looking at the front, Jared saw Flitwick step forward with an old torn up hat and the stool for the Sorting. After placing the sorting hat on the stool the miniature professor took his place at the Head table and the students began to wait. Jared stared at the Sorting hat and sighed, knowing what had to be done.  
  
'Sure...come to Hogwarts, fulfill prophecy....this is gonna hurt, I just know it....'  
  
Suddenly the doors opened and McGonagall led the first years to the front of the Great Hall. The rip in the sorting hat suddenly formed a mouth and looked up at McGonagall for a moment then suddenly looked to its left, directly at Jared.  
  
"Hmmm, I see someone that should have been sorted ages ago.......step forward."  
  
McGonagall looked at Dumbledore in shock, wondering what should be done. Dumbledore nodded and McGonagall motioned for Jared to come forward. Jared leaned over towards his brother and whispered in his ear for a moment then stood up and walked towards the head table. Sitting on the stool, Jared calmly let out a deep breath as the Sorting hat was placed on his head.  
  
Yes, I know, it's evil, cutting it off there and not telling you what's happening...........just what is this room on the third floor? What's going to happen to Jared? Will the male population lynch Harry and Jared before they can steal their women? Tune in for the next exciting (hopefully) chapter of Harry Potter and the Eternal Balance. 


	6. Teaser

I found out that if you update a existing chapter, the date you submitted doesn't change, so no one would really know I had decided to get off of my butt and finish the 4th chapter....so here's a little teaser so we can all see if you enjoy the forth chap or not. And again, if you have any suggestions or comments, tell me  
  
Chapter Five Teaser  
  
What do you mean we don't know how to use magic? We've been in Hogwarts for over 5 years! Of course we know how to use mag..." Terry's voice trailed off as Jared and Harry both began to glow a warm yellow color that seemed to be flowing into their hands. ....  
  
*********  
  
Jared grinned as he watched the house team practicing Quidditch, each of the team members using all of their newly acquired abilities to show off.  
  
'Well, guess it's time to get in the game....'  
  
********  
  
"DETENTION POTTER!"  
  
Jared looked at Snape calmly and merely flicked his hand forward, pinning Snape against the wall with a wall of wind.  
  
"If you ever, EVER mention either of my parents again, you'll regret it Snape."  
  
******* 


End file.
